The present invention relates generally to call centers for managing customer communications and, more specifically, to non-disruptive delivery of content, such as training, to call center customer service agents.
A call center is a system that enables a staff of call center agents to service telephone calls to or from the customers or other constituents of an organization. Typically, calls are distributed and connected to agents that are available at the time of the call or are otherwise most suited to handle the call. The call-distribution function, commonly referred to as automatic call distribution (xe2x80x9cACDxe2x80x9d), is generally implemented in software that executes in a switching system, such as a private branch exchange, that connects customer calls to agent telephones. A workforce management (xe2x80x9cWFMxe2x80x9d) component is often employed by a call center to schedule and manage agent staffing and call center capacity.
More recently, computer-telephony integration (xe2x80x9cCTIxe2x80x9d) has been widely employed in call centers. In a typical call center, a CTI component conveys telephony information, such as the telephone number of the calling party and the identity of the agent to whom the call is connected, from the ACD switching system to other components of the call center system. The other components of the call center system typically use this information to send relevant database information, such as the account file of the calling party, across a local area network (xe2x80x9cLANxe2x80x9d) or other communications network to a data terminal of the agent to whom the call is connected. The CTI component, other system components, and the LAN can also be used to deliver other information to the agents.
More generally, the business function provided by a call center may be extended to other communications media and to contact with constituents of an organization other than customers. For example, an e-mail help desk may be employed by an organization to provide if technical support to its employees. Web-based xe2x80x9cchatxe2x80x9d-type systems may be employed to provide information to sales prospects. When a broadband communications infrastructure is more widely deployed, systems for the delivery of broadband information, such as video information, to a broad range of constituents through constituent contact centers will likely be employed by many organizations.
Agents in call centers and other constituent contact centers must be well-trained in order to maximize their productivity and effectiveness. Agent training must be intensive and frequent in centers that handle complex interactions with constituents or that change call scripts or other interaction programs often. In many situations, the quality and effectiveness of agent training may significantly drive the performance of the call center.
In conventional call centers, training is provided to call center agents through a variety of mechanisms. The supervisor of the call center may simply walk over to individual agents, or place telephone calls to the individual agents, and pass on new information to the agents personally. New information may be distributed by email, by an instructor in a classroom setting, or over an intranet. Alternatively, the information may be broadcast over a public announcement system or may be displayed on a large wall display at the front of the call center. New information may also be provided through a xe2x80x9cchair dropxe2x80x9d by which written information updates or training materials are handed to the agents for their consumption.
More recently, automated methods for agent training and information updating have been developed. Computer-based training (xe2x80x9cCBTxe2x80x9d) involves the distribution of training programs to an agent""s computer desktop. CBT may be distributed in a broadcast mode, with each agent receiving the same training at the same time. CBT may more effectively be deployed by allowing individual agents to access desktop training on their own schedule and at their own pace through self-directed CBT. In self-directed CBT, each agent takes the initiative to enter a training session, and the pace and content of the training can reflect individual agent learning rates and base knowledge.
While computer-based training methods provide a significant improvement in training effectiveness, efficiency, and sophistication to call centers and other constituent contact centers, conventional CBT-based training regimens have significant drawbacks. Broadcast CBT systems require that a group of agents be diverted en masse from their customer interaction duties for a period of time, and those systems do not accommodate large variations in learning rate or base knowledge among agents. While self-directed CBT enables agents to learn at their own pace and to enter training sessions when they wish, conventional self-directed training is not amenable to centralized management and control by the call center. For example, conventional self-directed CBT cannot be scheduled to avoid disrupting ongoing agent/customer interactions and is not integrated with call center ACD or workforce management systems. As a result, call centers employing conventional CBT techniques are often forced to make an unsatisfactory tradeoff between short-term call center performance and longer-term agent knowledge and effectiveness.
The present invention supports the scheduling and delivery of training or other information to an agent in a call center or other constituent contact environment. Agent schedule data from a workforce management component or agent workload data from a work distribution component (such as an ACD) may be analyzed to decide whether an agent is scheduled for training or available for training.
According to one aspect of the invention, the user interface at the agent""s system terminal may be monitored to determine whether the agent is interacting with constituents. If the agent is not busy, training materials or other information are delivered to the agent""s desktop through the system""s communications network.
To avoid interference between a training session and the agent""s customer call duties, the agent may be disconnected from the system""s customer contact engine before delivery of the training materials, according to another aspect of the invention. If call volume (or another metric) to the call center exceeds a predetermined threshold during the training session, the session may be discontinued so that the agent may return to his or her customer call duties.
The invention can include software components for analyzing an organization""s communications with its customers or other constituents. A scheduling component accepts agent work assignment data, analyzes the data to determine when the agent is scheduled to receive training or other information, and schedules the delivery of training material or other information to the agent. A monitoring component can monitor the agent""s communications with customers to determine if the agent is available for training. A delivery component can deliver training materials or other information to the agent over a communications network when the agent is scheduled and/or available to receive the information.
The present invention thus advantageously integrates workforce management and work distribution components of a call center to schedule and deliver training materials or other information to the agent without disrupting the agent""s customer contact duties or otherwise reducing the performance of the call center.